[ The Frye RV-7 Project ] Thursday, March 28, 2024  
 

 

Sun-N-Fun 2006

This year Theresa and I decided to head down for a week away just the two of us. To top it off, even our usual SnF companion, Marilyn, wasn't going to make it this year.

We decided that the way to go was to rent a vehicle for the drive. About the time the sun started to come up on Sunday ... we started to realize that the A/C in the car was weak. Once the sun was up good and strong, we realized it was actually *shot*. Along about Brunswick, GA we called the Alamo folks and after a bit of pondering the best logistics, decided to pick up a replacment in Jacksonville.

The switch could not have been easier, and the vehicle we got was actually quite a bit nicer than the original. Fortunatly with just the two of us the packing wasn't a big deal ... so we swapped stuff out of one vehicle to the other, and the whole exercise probably only cost us about 30 minutes of travel time.

We got down to Lakeland in plenty of time, and eventually selected a new camp site (which we dubbed "Shady Rest"). It was at the back of Section 18 ... and, yes, was another cow pasture. Our old location had been turned into a 24-hour generator area, and we did NOT want to live with the hum of generators running all night! As it turns out, the new location was great. It was a slightly longer walk to the showers, but after about 5pm our area was in the shade. Nice. Setup was faster than ever, and I think we are about to get a routine. The tent was the same used last year and it went up fast. Afterward we went for our traditional first-night dinner at the Steak-And-Shake. :)

Since the show started on Tuesday, we had Monday to go do non-airplane stuff. We headed to Tampa, found a great yarn/knitting store, then drove over the bridge to St. Petersburg. We found a so-so yarn store there, then headed to the waterfront area on the Tampa Bay side of the city. After parking and having a nice lunch, we went wandering.

The city had hosted a road race the day before, so the roads were a bit of a jumble as they were removing the race barriers. Even so we found our way to a waterfront park, and then over around to "The Pier". After we visited there, we drove over to the beaches beyond Clearwater and drove down the island chain that fronts onto the Gulf of Mexico. Down at the bottom of the island chain we found a really *nice* park that was cool to visit. We then hit the road for the scenic route back to Lakeland.

Tuesday we hit the show, with a focus on looking at each and every EFIS on the show grounds. I had been leaning in the direction of a Dynon setup, but am now rethinking and am considering one of the new Advanced units. I really like the functionality and thinking behind the Advanced EFIS, and Rob Hickman has been in the experimental electronics business for years now and has a great reputation. I still have time to decide, though, so will keep my options open.

Wednesday was a general "looking at airplanes" day. We hit vintage and warbirds, with Theresa taking a shine to a Swift that was being raffled off (and with the money going to a good cause). We spent the week talking about "her Swift". :) We walked through more vendors, hit the parts mart, and generally walked ourselves to death. The afternoon saw us taking a break back at "Shady Rest" ... and man was that a plesant way to catch our breath. Wednesday was clearly the day with the nicest weather and we enjoyed it tremendously.

Thursday had us looking first at all the RVs on the flight line. We had an eye toward panels and paint jobs. I have to say we came away with a few ideas, too. :) A forum on Panels and Cockpit Design didn't hurt in the idea department either! After that we caught some lunch off-field, and went over to Lake Parker to watch some seaplanes. Coming back to the field we tried to hit the vendor areas that we had not hit earlier ... and then with feet hurting, called it a day.

Friday we focussed on hitting a few specific vendors that we wanted to revisit, picking up some more tools from Avery, and hitting the parts mart one last time to pick up something there that I had talked myself into buying. I also had some folks I needed to meet for some activities I have planned ... which I'll talk about later if they work out. Since they are still in the works, I don't want to say anything prematurely. (And, no, it isn't a big deal .. just not ready to be discussed yet.)

Since we had done just about everything we wanted, we decided to tear down the camp and bug out ... thus avoiding packing in the morning when everything would be -wet- with dew. Packing was also the fastest ever, and we were done in short order. We then hit the showers on the way out, and were on our way.

The trip was interesting. We got rolling late grabbing a bite of dinner in Lakeland. We headed out via a new route, and it was a good choice (and avoided I-75 completely!). We made it to I-10 by 11:00pm, and were in the Brunswick area by 12:30. Like we have done for the previous 4 years we did NOT make reservations ... figuring we would just stop when we got ready and get a room. Sadly, that was NOT a good plan this year.

To make a LOOONG story shorter, there was no room to be had in Brunswick. In fact, we didn't find a room until 4:00am in Florence, SC! Suffice it to say ... we were exhausted at that point. It did make for a very short drive home the next day, but with only 5 hours sleep we were groggy.

Theresa and I had a -great- trip this year. I learned a lot and came away with many new thoughts about how I want to proceed. Now .. I just need to finish this airframe SOON! Time to get it done. :)



 

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